Markets and Capitalisms in Indigenous Societies in the Colonial Americas

Archaeological studies of colonial encounters in the Americas have increasingly focused on the role of capitalism within European imperial projects. However, this growing attention on capitalism is vulnerable to endless debates over definitions and transitions, potentially resulting in interpretations that tell us more about Eurocentric notions of capitalism than the complexities of colonial economic arrangements. This session asks participants to move beyond trait-based definitions of capitalism in an effort to understand the actual economic practices that emerged from the friction of local colonial encounters. Specifically, we seek to unpack the tangled web of economic relationships that characterized colonial societies, refocusing our analysis on the ways in which indigenous groups perceived, managed, and ultimately captured colonial markets for their own political and economic goals. We examine the diversity of colonial encounters in the Americas (Spanish, English, Russian, French, etc.) as well as studies of continuities and disruptions across prehistoric/historic boundaries. By centering indigenous societies, the case studies in this session move beyond considerations of capitalism as an ideal type, and instead explore the laborers, traders, and consumers directly responsible for the creation of colonial political economies.